“The trouble with Jim was he looked at the world and could not look away. And when you never look away all your life, by the time you are thirteen you have done twenty years taking in the laundry of the world.”

Chapter 9, page 40, Something Wicked This Way Comes,
this selection is from ISBN 0-380-97727-3. Avon Books, Hardcover, June 1999.
copyright (c) 1962, 1997 by Ray Bradbury.

This episode of Two Old Farts Talk Sci-Fi is part two of our “Something Wicked This Way Comes” episode.

Something Wicked This Way Comes is a novel by Ray Bradbury, one of the great writers of speculative fiction of the 20th century. Bradbury was (and is) an influence on a generation of writers, including Stephen King.

The story idea began in Bradbury’s head, and found its way out via a short story, a comic, a screenplay, a novel, and a movie.

Troy Harkin and David Clink continue to look at the pivotal novel, in all its iterations.

We will also do our Dream Casting, and our Outside-The-Box Casting, which David has referred to as “Scream Casting,” but, going forward, may be called “Schrödinger’s Cast.”

Our special guest continues to be Sandra Kasturi. She was our special guest for pt. 1 (Episode 13). See author photo (a different one, this time) and a bio (same one from episode 13) below.

Sandra Kasturi is an award-winning poet, writer, and editor, with work appearing in many places including ON SPEC, several Tesseracts anthologies, and 80! Memories & Reflections on Ursula K. Le Guin.

Her two poetry collections are: The Animal Bridegroom (with an introduction by Neil Gaiman) and Come Late to the Love of Birds (both from Tightrope Books).

Sandra recently won second prize in The New Quarterly’s Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest. She is also the winner of the Sunburst Award for her story “The Beautiful Gears of Dying” and ARC Magazine‘s Poem of the Year Award for “Old Men, Smoking.”

     “They peered in at the merry-go-round which lay under a dry rattle and roar of wind-tumbled oak trees. Its horses, goats, antelopes, zebras, speared through their spines with brass javelins, hung contorted as in a death rictus, asking mercy with their fright-colored eyes, seeking revenge with their panic-colored teeth.”

Chapter 18, page 73, Something Wicked This Way Comes,
this selection is from ISBN 0-380-97727-3. Avon Books, Hardcover, June 1999.
copyright (c) 1962, 1997 by Ray Bradbury.

Why do so many people who have read Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury consider it a classic, and one of their favorite novels? What is it about this tale of good vs. evil, carnivals and side shows, that stays with us?

This is the story of two children, Will Halloway, and Jim Nightshade. They are both thirteen years old, born minutes apart, living across the street from each other, best friends. This is their adventure, an adventure that will take them to a carnival with a Ferris wheel, a mirror maze, an illustrated man, and the most beautiful woman in the world, an adventure that will forever change them and the town they live in.

The cast of characters include:
A lightning-rod salesman.
A dust witch.
A father working as a janitor working in a library who feels that he failed his son when he needed him most.
And the two men who run the carnival, Mr. Dark and Mr. Cooger.

Some characters in the novel long for the past.
Others have an eye to the future.
And the ever-pressing present rolling forward that no one can avoid.

And wishes do come with a price.

Troy Harkin and David Clink will look at the novel, the movie, the comic book, the short story it was all based on, and try to provide the answers.

We are introducing a new segment with this episode:
“These are a few of our favorite words”
This is where Troy, David and their special guest will read short excerpts from their favorite passages in the novel.

Our special guest is Sandra Kasturi. See author photo and bio below..

Sandra Kasturi is an award-winning poet, writer, and editor, with work appearing in many places including ON SPEC, several Tesseracts anthologies, and 80! Memories & Reflections on Ursula K. Le Guin.

Her two poetry collections are: The Animal Bridegroom (with an introduction by Neil Gaiman) and Come Late to the Love of Birds (both from Tightrope Books).

Sandra recently won second prize in The New Quarterly’s Nick Blatchford Occasional Verse Contest. She is also the winner of the Sunburst Award for her story “The Beautiful Gears of Dying” and ARC Magazine‘s Poem of the Year Award for “Old Men, Smoking.”